Cinematography for Directors. Jacqueline Frost

makes a creative collaboration?

      ■ I want to provide the director with a place in which to do his job with the words and the actors. The essence of cinematography is that partnership with the director, together you become this team to bring the story to life. As a cinematographer, I like to create for the director a safe performance base within which to work. I may be augmenting with color choices, composition, camera movement, lighting, all in collaboration with the production designer, but basically, when it all comes right down to it, I want to provide the director with a place in which to do his job with the words and the actors.

      (Amy Vincent, Frost interview)

      7. Amy Vincent (Photo courtesy of Amy Vincent)

      Making a film is the merging of numerous creative entities into one strong unit. That means uniting the key players involved in all three stages of production. The producer has gotten the script green lit and financed and is influential in the hiring of each creative force behind the project including the director. From the production designer to the wardrobe coordinator, each professional involved in the project has their own specific tasks to attend to and they have visually interpreted the script with a focus on their particular area of expertise. But the unifying process starts with the director, the creative visionary that everyone else looks towards for guidance and leadership.

      The cinematographer’s job is to capture the images that the production designer has created and the actors inhabit. Often the production designer works with the director prior to the cinematographer being hired to discuss the sets and locations. Once the cinematographer is involved with the project, communication between the director, production designer, and cinematographer is key. The color of the sets and the wardrobe affect the lighting the look of the film. Such collaborations begin during preproduction and are maintained during production.

      ■ Every director is different in terms of how involved they are in the various aspects of making the film, and what they want to do. Tim (Burton) has a unique voice. I’ve been doing this for some time now, and that’s the type of director I’m seeking out. I want to be inspired. I can only go so far by myself. I’ve worked with directors where you’re doing most of the visual work, but you want to be challenged and taken places where you’re creating stuff that’s original.

      (Ben Davis, BSC, American Cinematographer magazine, April 2019, 34)

      During production, the crew — including the first assistant director, the camera assistants, gaffers, grips, script supervisors, sound mixer, boom operator, prop masters, wardrobe, and hair and production assistants — all have important roles to play on set. Fulfilling their positions is vital to the film being completed on time and on budget. But there is a hierarchy to the crew dynamic that must be adhered to if all is to run smoothly, and there are several above-the-line players who are the creative forces behind a motion picture film.

      ■ This is a business that can easily allow someone to fall into the ego trip of thinking they are better than everyone else just because they are the designated leader of the group. I like to think that everyone works together as a family. Yes, there is a hierarchy involved and people have to be leaders, but everyone treats everyone else with respect, whether you are a PA or a driver or the director.

      (Ellen Kuras, ASC, Frost interview)

      THE DIRECTOR

      Many directors have become familiar names such as Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Ridley Scott, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, Ron Howard, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, Nancy Meyers, Michael Mann, Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, and the “master of suspense” Alfred Hitchcock, just to name a few.

      They are essentially the star creative entity in a film production, along with the celebrity talent. The director’s name stands alone either as the last credit before the film begins or the first credit when the film ends.

      The director is ultimately responsible for the storytelling aspects of the film, through the actors’ performances to the selection of shots and compositions. As the main person associated with the style and content of the film, the director has to maintain the artistic integrity and clarity of vision when making final decisions on the screenplay. The director, who also has a decisive role in the selection of cast and crew, should create a collaborative relationship with the cinematographer and production designer, with all three in accord about the visual look of the film. The director also manages numerous other aspects of production, including supervising visual effects and exercising the right of first cut in editing. But most importantly, the director must have a vision of the finished film before it has been photographed and must also understand how all the individual aspects of production will effectively communicate the story to the audience.

      During preproduction the producer is very involved with the project, having developed the idea, hired the writer, created the package, acquired financing, and hired the director. The producer is an especially powerful force at this point in the production and remains involved from the inception of the concept until the film has been distributed. During production the producer may or may not be on set, but they have selected a director whom they trust to bring the written word to life through the actors and the camera.

      On set the director must delegate tasks and trust in the abilities of their crew. She or he maintains the pace of the set, meets the schedule, and has a whole crew of people waiting to hear what they have to say. For a director who has bonded with their cinematographer, they do not face the actors and crew alone. They have an ally in the cinematographer in capturing their vision.

      ■ Every day on set the director is faced with endless decisions about everything and making the right ones can be really difficult. (Tony) Gilroy once told me that is one of the most difficult things a director has to know is when to say, “That’s all I need from this setup; let’s go on to the next.” That is the scariest moment for him because he knows he’s never going to get back there again.

      (Robert Elswit, ASC, Frost interview)

      ■ A good director is open to ideas. I like an interesting, creative person who can relate to actors. As a cinematographer, you don’t want to build a bridge to the actors; they are the director’s responsibility. I really love when there is that exchange between me and a director, when the director can be honest and direct and say, “Look, I don’t like that — but I like that,” and I can show things to them and they are honest about it instead of feeling either intimidated by what you are doing or afraid to say, “Look, that doesn’t fit with my vision.”

      (Seamus McGarvey, Frost interview)

      ■ During preproduction, I really like to get into the director’s head and try to see what they’re thinking. Sometimes it’s a tricky collaboration because my job is not just about how the film looks, it’s also about making sure I’m communicating visually what the director intended because in the end it’s still the director’s film. I just try to just remain the partner. I’ve worked with a lot of first-time directors, and those collaborations can be really wonderful because they don’t necessarily know all the rules. They break them and challenge me to look at my own practices and beliefs, which shakes me up a little. They’ll ask things, and then you don’t want to say “no,” so instead you say, “Well, let’s figure out how we would do this.” So it can be exciting.

      (Nancy Schreiber, Frost interview)

      8. Nancy Schreiber, ASC (Photo courtesy of Nancy Schreiber, ASC)

      ■ It’s different with each director. With some directors, I will spend a lot of time with them to go over the script in a lot of detail and talk about it. Even if we’re totally wrong, to just sit down for a week and say, “This is the scene. How should we do it? How would we tell this information?” But in that situation, we are normally not on set, and usually at a dining room table just hashing it